#Mainly because she still works at Arkham and he's really rather not have her job jeapordized because of him

[masquenoire]

★

Send me a ★ and I’ll bold what applies to your muse.

“Morning, sweet thing...”

I like you / I hate you / I dislike you / I love you / You are family / I would take a bullet for you / I would shoot you / I would lie to your face / I would say something cruel to you on purpose / I would say something cruel to you accidentally / I would cheat on you / I would physically hurt you / You annoy me / You amuse me / I’d laugh at you / I’d laugh with you / I’d manipulate you / You scare me / You confuse me / I wish I knew you better / I trust you / I don’t trust you / You inspire me / I consider you an equal / You are beneath me / You’re better than me / I would trust you with my life / I think you’re mean / I think you’re petty / I think you’re childish / I think you’re smart / I think you’re stupid / I think you’re a bad person / I think you’re a good person / I’m not sure what kind of person you are / I wish you would listen to me / I want to make you proud / I wish you would notice me / I want to impress you / I would hurt other people for you / I’m not sure how to make you happy / I’m a bad influence on you / You deserve better than me / We make a great team / I’d have a one night stand with you / I’d have a relationship with you / I would marry you / I fantasize about our life together / I would trust you with my most treasured belonging / I would tell you my darkest secrets / You disgust me / You intimidate me / I hope I intimidate you / I’d hug you / I’d let you hug me / I’m scared of losing you / I don’t think you like me / I want to be better for you / I respect you / I don’t respect you / You’re my mentor / You’re my friend / You’re my best friend / I have a crush on you / I could easily watch you die / I’d get drunk with you / I’d party with you / I’d comfort you / I’d prank you / I’d spike your drink / I’d act behind your back / I’d abandon you / I’d hurt you to get what I want / I would choose my happiness over yours / I would choose your happiness over mine / I despise how much I care for you / I need you / I’m dependent on you / I don’t know what I’d do without you / I’m scared of you leaving me / I’d give my life for you / You frustrate me / I’d call for you in a time of need / I would protect you / I’d visit you in hospital / I’d carry you if you were hurt / I’d feel guilty if I hurt you / I’d let you be near me when I am vulnerable / I’d ignore a phone call from you / I’d call you at 3am / I’d break you out of jail / I’d get angry at you / I would shout at you / You’re too loud / You’re too quiet / You’re too sensitive / You can’t take a joke / You embarrass me / I feel nothing for you / You’re reckless / You’re bossy / You bore me / I would ask your advice / I would blame you for something I did / I would cry in your arms / You have the power to hurt me more than anyone else /

[lawful-evil-novelist]

Introduce your OCs. As many as you can. Salem seems cool especially.

All my ocs?  I dunno anon, I have a lot of ocs.  As a small numbers summary, my rogue kids ocs number at 25, my Gotham U kids number at 3, their friends and family number at 2 and this is not taking into account Black Mask’s weapons dealer and his bodyguards.  I also have the Curtis family, the Tsath, and assorted Rogue family.  And that’s just Batman OCs, which I’m assuming you want to know about, so I’ll list them as best I can.

Under the cut because that is over 45 OCs.

Tobias Bloom, or simply Tobi, is Mr. Bloom’s adopted son.  He’s a small phytokinetic boy from South Korea and is a pretty happy and well-adjusted kid, you know, considering he’s the son of Mr. Bloom.

Dorothy Crane is Jonathan Crane’s daughter,  she is also the daughter of Roxanne Sutton but she and her brother were mainly created with Jon in mind and thus it is closer to describe her as Jon’s daughter than Roxy’s.  Her name is a really blatant reference to the Wizard of Oz and she takes a lot of her personality, including her snark and vindictive attitude, from Jon.

Pluto Crane is Dorothy’s younger brother.  Compared to Dorothy he’s a lot more timid but a lot less vindictive.  On the other hand, Pluto is a lot more prone to anger than Dorothy is, his temper is faster and like Jon’s it is violent.  His name is a reference to “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Ezekiel Dent, more commonly known as Zeke, is Harvey Dent’s son.  At his core he is very much like his father, but he’s not well treated and has a low self-esteem and depression as a result.  Zeke and Todd are a couple.

Evangeline Fries, or Eva, is the daughter of Victor and Nora Fries.  While she primarily lives with Nora when she first realized she had ice powers she ran away and was found by Victor, who brought her home.  Eva closely resembles Nora and Victor has, on occasion, mistakenly called her Nora when distracted.

Violet Harris is the daughter of Music Meister, and in her teens begins a job as a sidekick for Black Canary, due to them having similar meta-abilities.  Violet is a natural musician, much like her father, but usually channels her energy in to ballet and violin, rather than singing.

Clover Isley is one of Pamela Isley’s plant children.  Her appearance is largely based on that of Jervis Tetch and Mary Dahl, and is thus rather small and childlike in appearance.  However, Clover is a rather spiteful child, and her personality is based largely on fair folk, being mischievous and full of bad ideas.

Lavender Isley is Clovers older sister, and her appearance is more closely based on Harley Quinn’s, though Lavender dyes her hair purple out of preference (Lavender lives up to her name), Lavender is much gentler compared to Clover, and a lot kinder.  That said she is not without faults, and like her mother is prone to vengeful rages.

Ayah Jones is Waylon Jones’s daughter.  She has a very mild form of Waylon’s condition, which surfaces in superhuman strength, reptilian eyes, and sharp teeth.  Ayah is normally very cheerful, but she is fully willing to fight to defend people.  Ayah is a trained boxer because she insisted on knowing how to fight.

Hunter Jones is Ayah’s older brother.  He also has a form of Waylon’s condition, though along with Ayah’s symptoms he also experiences scale growths.  These are located mainly on his face in spots where bone is prominent (jaw, eyebrow, cheekbones, etc), joints, and spots where the bone is very close to his skin, like along his spine.  These growths are dark brownish green.  Hunter is a lot calmer compared to Ayah, and can come across to some as timid or a pushover.  Hunter and Leo are a couple.

Aiden Lynns is Garfield Lynns’s son.  He’s pyrokinetic and is also diagnosed with autism.  Aiden is normally very soft-spoken and shy, but is still very friendly.  Most of the other Rogue kids like Aiden, even if they don’t like each other.  He is also the youngest of the Rogue kids next to Gwen and Jeremy.

Aisling Machin is Lonnie’s only daughter and eldest child.  She’s a lot more orderly than her father and is the most responsible of the three kids.  She disagrees with most of her father’s views, but agrees that society needs to be reformed, largely because it creates people like Lonnie in the first place.

Maxwell Machin, or Max, is Lonnie’s older son and middle child.  Lonnie is the least kind to Max, who is withdrawn and hostile towards most people as a result of Lonnie’s abuse.  Max is a daredevil of sorts, and Batman has caught him in multiple illegal motorcycle races.  Though hostile to most, Max is close to his siblings and protective of Niall.

Niall Machin is the youngest of Lonnie’s children, and his favorite.  Niall is the closest to his father and often overlooks his poor treatment of Max because he’s treated well.  He doesn’t ignore it outright, he knows Lonnie doesn’t treat Max well, but he also is willing to look the other way if it means he can keep a close relationship with Lonnie.  Aisling and Max don’t like this in the slightest and think Niall is selfish, which he is, but they still care about their younger brother.

Sarah Menkel is Peter Menkel’s daughter.  She’s a cheerful, friendly girl, a bit of a tomboy and an avid gymnast.  Like her father she is hypermobile and a contortionist, both things she uses to freak people out.  She’s much better at blowing off mean comments compared to the other Rogue kids.

Andrea Monroe is the daughter of Paige Monroe.  She’s extremely optimistic, mostly in an attempt to keep her mother happy, often at the cost of her own happiness.

Eleanor Nygma, or Ellie, is the older daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle.  She is a lot more like Selina in both appearance and personality, is proud to be the daughter of both.  Selina is very elegant and smug.

Elizabeth Nygma, or Liz, is the younger daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle.  She is very similar to Edward in appearance and personality, and similarly is just as haughty and prides her intelligence above most other attributes.

Barbara Quinzel is the daughter of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Todd’s twin sister.  She’s nicknamed Barb and Babs by her brother Todd.  Barbara is very cheerful and friendly, but shares a similar morbidity with her father.  Barbara is named after and the goddaughter of Barbara Gordon.

Todd Quinzel is the son of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Barbara’s twin brother.  He is cheerful and bubbly and acrobatic.  Joker’s chemical damage has resulted in Todd having albinism and asthma.  Todd has very bad vision and wears thick round glasses.  Joker is very protective of him, as are Bud and Lou.  Todd is named after and the godson of Jason Todd.  Todd and Zeke are a couple.

Leon Sanchez, or Leo, is the son of Bane, he is half-Nahuatl.  Bane’s venom use caused Leo to develop superhuman strength.  Leo is a snarky, cynical young man, but comes off as smug and apathetic.  Leo was born November 2nd, during Dia de los Muertos.  Like Bane, Leo is extremely intelligent and multilingual.  Leo and Hunter are a couple.

Gwendolyn Tetch, or Gwen, is the daughter of Jervis Tetch.  She’s shy and quiet, often mirroring her father in manner and personality.  Gwen has a meta-ability linked to mind control.  Gwen is regularly assumed to be Jervis’s “Alice” but in contrast, her name is based on the White Rabbit.  Gwen takes the assumption that she’s Alice as an insult.

Jeremy Todd is the youngest Rogue child and the son of Jason Todd.  He is much closer to the Rogue kids than the Batfamily and considers himself part of the Rogue kids, not the Batfam.  Jason doesn’t like this but the Rogue kids accept him willingly.

Cosette Walker is the daughter of Drury Walker, and splits her time between her father and her mother in France.  Cosette is polite and well-mannered, and is rather flighty.  She loves butterflies and birds and the color blue and singing.

Marcus Wesker is the grandson of Arnold Wesker.  Because his parents abandoned him with Wesker and Scarface, Marcus grew up with a lot of verbal abuse from Scarface and ended up adopting his rude attitude as a manner of defending himself, which really only made Scarface more aggressive towards him.

Salem Jackson is a white witch from a rich family in Mississippi, and a psychology major at Gotham U.  She has large black horns and interns at Arkham Asylum.  Most people do not know much about her family in Gotham but there are rumors abound that she killed her parents in retaliation for being abused as a child.

Audrey Brenner is an anthropology major at Gotham U, but was born and raised in Metropolis.  She prefers Superman to Batman and several rogues have taken a liking to her and protect her.  Audrey works as a cashier at the gift shop of the Superman museum over breaks and deals with Lex Luthor on an almost daily basis because for some reason he has to visit the place regularly.

Valerie Spade, or Val, is a chemistry major at Gotham U and, essentially, a villain intern.  She works for Penguin and he rents her out to various rogues.  Val has superspeed and as a result has a boosted metabolism that means she needs to eat regularly.

Penelope Spade, or Penny, is Val’s older sister, though she has a meta-ability, she doesn’t use it often, and is an art student in Metropolis.  Penny and Audrey get along and Audrey has convinced the Superman museum to commission her for their special exhibit posters.

Jack O’Reilly is Audrey’s best friend and the shift manager at the Superman museum gift shop.  He goes to school in Central City and has dyed his hair green to emulate the Joker.  He finds villains fascinating, which is a pretty reasonable reaction because he and Audrey attract them like flies.

Daniel Frei, or Dani, is a weapons dealer partnered with Black Mask, he is the youngest of Mask’s dealers at 19, and is part of a larger German crime family.  Dani is cautious and avoids conflict with most of the Batfamily, though he has quite often flirted with both Nightwing and Red Hood.

Nathaniel Zhao, or Nate, is one of Dani’s bodyguards, he is half-Chinese and half-German.  He is a chronic smoker and a survivor of severe abuse from his father.  Nate regards most people rather bitterly, but after an accident where Batman lost his headset, he actually spoke to and befriended Oracle.  Nate is 21.

Xavier Knight, affectionately nicknamed Xav, is Dani’s 17-year-old bodyguard.  Xavier was born deaf and has severe damage to his vocal chords that prevents him from speaking without feeling pain, and instead almost always signs everything.  Though he can hear due to a cochlear implant, he usually has headphones and reads lips like he did as a child.  Xavier’s vocal chord damage is visible from his throat, and because he doesn’t want to ask any awkward questions about it, he covers the scars with a scarf.

Abigail Curtis is a forensics officer at GCPD and a college friend of Edward Nygma.  She is vain, sarcastic, and temperamental, the latter of which is in large part due to her job.  She hates Batman because he takes a large portion of her evidence for himself, but appreciates his work to clean up the crime in the city.  She’s known to throw things and despite being small can take Lyle Bolton in a fight.

Jasper Curtis is Abigail’s twin brother and almost emotionally dead.  As a child he was interred at Arkham due to mild depression and was psychologically tortured and experimented on by Hugo Strange.  Jasper’s response was to retreat inward, his only really prominent emotions being irritation and apathy.  The experiments gave Jasper the ability to remove his head without killing himself and pull his spine out of his back without losing its support.  Both of these cause him chronic pain.

Melody Curtis is Jasper and Abigail’s older sister, a metahuman who can create living things from drawings.  Melody doesn’t live with her siblings, but takes care of them as best she can.  Melody has a personal vendetta against Hugo Strange.

Hazel Marsh is a half Tsath, half Atlantean woman best known for defending the Tsath against Atlantean purists, by killing the purists.  Hazel’s Atlantean father almost never gets to see her.

Basir Mihael is the prince of the Tsath,  He’s missing an eye because of the Atlantean purists, and lives in Gotham because he wants to learn how humans deal with Atlanteans.  He is in a relationship with Jasper Curtis and is one of the few people who can make Jasper laugh.

Reagan Napier is the Joker’s older brother, he lives in Star City and is a bare knuckle boxer.  Reagan is extremely protective of his brother and has threatened both the GCPD and Batman several times, he has also broken Lyle Bolton’s nose.

Ailish Napier is Joker’s mother.  She still lives in Belfast where Joker and Reagan grew up, in their childhood home.  Though she communicates with both of her sons by letter, she has avoided meeting Joker directly, a decision Joker urged her to make for her own safety.

Cinta Walker is Drury Walker’s mother, a Javanese woman who fell in love with Drury’s father, but only married him and moved to Australia with him after Drury was born.  She still lives in Australia, even after Drury’s father died, but visits Drury in Gotham on occasion.

Chayton Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandfather.  He didn’t know about his grandson until Jon was 19, but treats him as family nontheless.  Chayton does not speak to Gerald Crane, and is furious that Gerald abandoned a child he concieved.

Ruth Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandmother.  She is a very gentle, kind woman who taught Jon how to speak Crow and is very protective of her grandson.  She carries a concealed firearm and has threatened Batman with a shotgun.

Leigh Crane is Jonathan Crane’s closest cousin, being about 15.  Leigh is a nervous, shy girl and though she has been to Gotham to visit her cousin, clung to Jon the whole time and refused to leave him for a moment.  Jon is very protective of her.

Lyndon Keeny is Jonathan Crane’s great great uncle and Marion Keeny’s younger brother, though he is almost 100 he looks about 23 because he has been in the Lazarus Pit.  Lyndon is good friends with R’as al Ghul and is brave to the point of utter stupidity.  For instance, he steals from Vandal Savage, regularly, for fun.

Lucio Kyle is Selina Kyle’s younger brother.  He is a grad student at Gotham U, where he studies forensics.  He is also Abigail’s current intern.

Vaite is Garfield Lynns’s childhood best friend, a young Maori boy.  He is a cheerful, friendly young man and is still on very good terms with Garfield.

[aion-rsa]

Spider-Man PS4: What We Learned From the Hostile Takeover Prequel Novel

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This web of spoilery secrets, from the Spider-Man Hostile Takeover prequel novel, will boost your hype levels for Spider-Man PS4...

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Books

Rob Leane

Aug 8, 2018

Spider-Man

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

Hey there, True Believers. The long-awaited Spider-Man PS4 game will web-sling its way onto shelves on September 7th, and it promises to deliver an epic open world filled with iconic characters at every turn. It is, quite simply, one of the most hotly anticipated games in recent memory, with fans around the globe hoping for an experience that surpasses the as-yet-unmatched excellence of the Spider-Man 2 tie-in game.

If you simply can’t wait until September 7th to visit the world of Spider-Man on PS4, you’re in luck: David Liss has penned a prequel novel, entitled Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover, which will allow you to learn an awful lot about this game before you first load it up.

The book is available for pre-order now as a paperback and a Kindle download, ahead of its release on August 21st. We were lucky enough to check out a preview copy, which managed to make us even more hyped for the game itself. 

Spidey isn’t sure about his future

If you’ve been following the pre-release hype train for Spider-Man PS4, you’ll know that its take on Peter Parker is not a rookie superhero or a high school student. A lot further down the superhero road than Tom Holland’s Marvel Cinematic Universe version, Spider-Man PS4’s protagonist (who’s voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) has been Spidey for eight years. His suit is very snazzy, and his fighting style is honed to perfection.

Despite really knowing his stuff, this seasoned Spidey is conflicted about his role in the world. He has a history with the NYPD, but is glad to find new allies over the course of the book. He’s locked up numerous villains over the years, but he’s also seen some walk free. Spidey even considers, at one point, planning his retirement from the superhero scene. He reckons that he might be able to hang up his web-shooters for good in a year and a half’s time.

Read the latest Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine Here!

Spending such a long stint of his life as Spider-Man has had an effect on Peter Parker. He is just about holding down a job as a lab technician for an important science company, but at various stages in the book he lets his bosses down by shirking work to fight crime. The company works on projects that benefit mankind, such as building super smart replacement limbs for amputees, and Peter laments that he can’t spend more time at his desk. It’ll be interesting to see if this struggle, and the idea of superhero retirement, rears its head again in the game.

Classic characters, fresh roles

Hostile Takeover also makes it clear that supporting characters will play important roles in Spider-Man PS4. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is Mary Jane Watson, who undertakes a career change in the book and starts a new job as a features writer for the Daily Bugle.

Her initial beat is culture and events, but MJ makes it clear that New York’s criminal element – mainly Wilson Fisk’s machinations as the Kingpin – is what she really wants to be writing about. MJ’s interest in Fisk drives a wedge between her and Peter, who were dating at the start of the book but seemingly separated by the end of it. This subplot from the book makes it easier to understand why MJ is a playable character in the game that has been sneaking around a lot in the trailers. (Interesting side note: in the book, MJ is the only person that knows Spidey’s secret identity.)

Other familiar characters who take on new roles here are J. Jonah Jameson (who goes from former newspaper man to shock jock podcast host over the course of the book) and Aunt May (who, rather than being another damsel in distress for Peter and his alter-ego to look out for, is actively helping the community by working at a homeless shelter named Feast). NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe, who becomes the superhero Wraith in the comics, also has a key part to play in the book: she's leading the official investigation into Fisk, and working with Spidey to gather evidence.

All in all, it seems like Spider-Man PS4 will be something of an ensemble piece, with numerous characters having meaningful tasks to complete. This is a world that feels properly inhabited, unlike, say, the Arkham Asylum games (where Gotham is usually deserted and Batman seems to be the only person doing anything).

Villains aplenty, and more to follow

Fisk is the main baddie in Hostile Takeover, but so many more menaces are mentioned. This makes sense, of course, given that Spidey must’ve fought a fair few foes in his eight years of activity. Shocker makes an appearance at one stage in the book, and Scorpion and Electro are both said to be locked up at The Raft super prison. Roxxon, a morally bankrupt company from the comics, are also referenced. The big-headed gangster Tombstone is active at the moment, as well.

At one point, Spidey goes to a villain-stuffed bar to search for intel. We’re really hoping that this location, which reminded us of the Villain Pub from the How It Should’ve Ended series on YouTube, is available to visit in the game.

Some villainous characters from the comics show up in the book without appearing to be evil as of yet. Norman Osborn, for example, is the mayor of New York and a rival of Fisk’s, but there is no reference made to the Green Goblin. Harry Osborn, similarly, seems to be a fairly normal guy at this point in his life: he’s plotting a trip to Europe during the book, and Peter describes his old friend Harry as an “all-round good person.” There is a reference to Harry having a shaky hand at one point, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s on the Goblin serum.

Martin Li, who is known to comic book fans as the fearsome Mr. Negative, appears to be a totally charming do-gooder during his one brief appearance in the book. He is a benefactor of the Feast shelter where Aunt May is working, and he even encourages Peter to volunteer. If you’ve seen any of the Spider-Man PS4 trailers, though, you’ll know that Spidey and Mr. Negative are set for a sizeable scrape in the near future. And if you’ve read any comics with Mr. Negative in them, you’ll know that duality is a key part of his character.

And as a potentially noteworthy sidebar, Hostile Takeover doesn't include any references to Doctor Octopus. The tentacled terror has long been rumored as the mystery villain at the heart of Spider-Man PS4's E3 trailer, but we'll just have to wait and play the game to find out if that's the case.

Fisk and Spidey have a history

Earlier on in his superhero career, Spider-Man put Wilson Fisk briefly behind bars. The Kingpin’s lawyers found legal loopholes, though, so the master criminal was released. This significant setback is one of the reasons why Spidey isn’t so sure about his future or his usefulness. Spidey is determined to put Fisk back in prison permanently, and this is the only real goal he has before wanting to retire from heroics.

The difficulty, though, is that Fisk has put a lot of time and effort in appearing legit. He’s even launched a housing scheme to support low-income locals. It’s hard to gather evidence to prove that Fisk is still up to no good, not least because the Kingpin uses Roxxon muscle to spy on judges - and other important officials – to ensure he has leverage on all of his potential enemies. The one judge that does side with Spidey soon ends up dead.

Kingpin is also managing a smear campaign against Spidey during the book. He employs an imposter (who was given powers by an Oscorp experiment) to run around in a Spidey suit that’s almost identical to the real thing. This imposter, later revealed to be a deranged criminal named Bingham, blows up a restaurant and kills the innocent people within it. Bingham, who gives himself the comics-referencing name Blood Spider, is eventually defeated by Spidey and put in prison. Bingham is still alive, though, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the game.

Fisk also has an adopted daughter in the book; a deaf woman with expert martial arts skills, named Maya Lopez, who Fisk took into his care after killing her mobster father. Maya is initially obsessed with taking down Spidey, because Fisk pinned the blame for her dad’s death on the wall-crawler. But Maya learns the truth when Spidey shows her the relevant police file, and, as a result, she decides to fight by his side as a superhero named Echo.

Maya leaves town at the end of the book, having helped Spidey to stop Fisk’s latest scheme. Fisk was trying to blackmail Norman Osborn into giving him an official role as the city’s finance minister. Fisk reckoned that nabbing a governmental title and grabbing control of the city’s purse strings would make him “too big to fail”, but Maya destroyed the memory stick containing the blackmail. We never learn what the information on the memory stick entailed, but it is interesting to know that Fisk had something on Osborn. Again, we wouldn’t be surprised if that subplot reared its head again in the game.

Spidey isn’t the only hero in town

Spidey and Echo aren’t the only comic book heroes to be referenced in the Hostile Takeover book, either. It is made abundantly clear that numerous Marvel Comics characters inhabit this world. There are references and allusion all over the place, all of which support the popular fan theory that Spider-Man PS4 could spawn a shared universe of Marvel-inspired video games.

Early on the book, a criminal confuses Spidey for Daredevil, which confirms without a doubt that The Man Without Fear exists in this world. This has us hoping that we could see these iconic red-suited heroes crossing paths, either in this game or a future title from Insomniac. (Just the possibility of that is enough to bring back fond memories of Daredevil’s cameo in Spidey’s first PS1 game.)

The Spider-Man PS4 prequel book also makes reference to Avengers Tower and the Wakandan Embassy, both of which exist in this version of New York. That’s all the confirmation we need that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Black Panther inhabit in the same world as this video game version of Spidey.

Spidey also makes reference, during Hostile Takeover, to an old house on Bleecker Street that always gives him the creeps. He doesn’t seem to know that Doctor Strange famously lives on this road, within the iconic Sanctum Sanctorum. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Strange will show up in the game, of course, but it’s still a nice little Easter Egg.

With any luck, this game will do a huge amount of business, enabling Insomniac to invest in more high-end video games based on the Marvel universe. We know that Black Cat, Miles Morales, and Silver Sable are slated to appear in the Spider-Man PS4 game (despite not being mentioned in the book), but there are so many other Marvel characters that also deserve a glossy game adaptation.

Web-slinging is great, but you also need to be stealthy

There are a few snippets in the book that tease what Spider-Man PS4’s gameplay will be like. Early on, for instance, Spidey explains that he has communications systems built into hit suit, which allow him to take calls and catch up with his contacts while fighting crooks at the same time. This read like a reference to the game itself, where presumably Spidey will field calls on the regular. (Can’t you just imagine Peter trying to talk normally to Aunt May while also taking down street thugs?)

His Spidey-sense is also mentioned, with the wall-crawler describing it as sometimes being “on automatic." This makes him “barely aware” that he’s changing direction. Perhaps this is a reference to the game will work: if he builds up enough focus, will Spidey be able to dodge bullets and avoid enemies without much direction from the player?

Stealth also seems to be a key component in this Spidey’s heroic activity. When he sneakily breaks into Fisk’s HQ, for example, Spider-Man has to web up the relevant security cameras and jam them into a specific position in order to pass by unseen. And in another chapter when he’s infiltrating a gala, Spidey picks the wrong moment to drop down from the ceiling and is immediately set upon by gunmen.

During an exterior scene, Spidey offers a brief description of his car-pursuing tactics. In the old PS2 games, Spidey could land on any car roof without endangering his mission. But now, if Spidey doesn’t stay stealthy during chase-based tasks, he’ll be beeped at by drivers and lose the element of surprise.

And, perhaps most excitingly, Spidey describes the experience of web-slinging as “alive and electric.” Swinging around the city makes him “full of the joy of movement and action.” We can’t wait to experience this for ourselves, as it’s been far too long since we experienced those kinetic joys on a PlayStation.

The Fisk takedown is the game's first level

In the final chapters of the book, Spidey teams up with Echo to defeat Bingham and destroy Fisk’s memory stick of blackmail materials. Now that he doesn’t have any leverage against Osborn, Fisk’s plan to hostilely takeover the city’s finances has well and truly been thwarted. This clears the path for Captain Watanabe to finish putting together her watertight file on Fisk’s criminal activity.

In the epilogue to the book, Peter is awoken in his untidy apartment by a phone call from Watanabe. She’s calling to alert Spidey, who’s become her ally over the course of the book, that she’s heading to Fisk Tower with a warrant to take the big guy into custody. This time, it should stick.

Spidey asks how he can help, and Watanabe gives him some instructions: the wall-crawler should head to Times Square and hold off Fisk’s goons, while Watanabe and her NYPD colleagues go into Kingpin's building and make the arrest. Excitedly swinging towards the scene to put Fisk away for the second time, Spidey absolutely jinxes his immediate future with the final words of the book. Assuming that he’s about to set the city straight, Spidey thinks to himself, “Life couldn’t get any crazier, right?”

Having read a few reports by lucky folk who’ve already played the first few hours of Spider-Man PS4, it sounds like Spidey being summoned into action to assist with the takedown of Fisk is exactly where the game begins. What Spidey doesn’t know, at least when the book finishes, is that putting Fisk away will actually awaken the city’s criminal element. Fisk was – in his own weird way – keeping a lot of bad people in check.

Things are indeed about to get a whole lot crazier for ol’ web-head, and we can’t wait to play through the mayhem for ourselves. Here’s hoping for a game that somehow lives up to our skyscraper-high expectations, which just swung up to heady new heights thanks to this prequel book’s teases.

You can pre-order the Spider-Man PS4 game right here. 

Here's the cover of the book...

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